Eye proteome of Drosophila melanogaster

Drosophila melanogaster is a popular model organism to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that underlie the structure and function of the eye as well as the causes of retinopathies, aging, light-induced damage, or dietary deficiencies. Large-scale screens have isolated genes whose mutation causes morphological and functional ocular defects, which led to the discovery of key components of the phototransduction cascade. However, the proteome of the Drosophila eye is poorly characterized. Here, we used GeLC-MS/MS to quantify 3516 proteins, including the absolute (molar) quantities of 43 proteins in the eye of adult male Drosophila reared on standard laboratory food. This work provides a generic and expandable resource for further genetic, pharmacological, and dietary studies.